The Great Outdoors: Desert, Mountains and Camping

The lessons at a glance

1. Planning a safe trip: route, weather and telling someone

Most outdoor emergencies start at home, with a plan that was too ambitious, a forecast nobody checked or a route nobody else knew about. Ten minutes of calm planning is the best safety kit you will ever carry.

• Ask the three questions: gear, weather, skills.
• Plan for the slowest person and add extra time for heat and rough ground.
• Leave your plan, return time and alarm time with someone who is not coming.
• Agree turn-back times at home, and treat turning back as good judgement.

2. Heat on the trail: water, timing and warning signs

In the Gulf, heat is the hazard that turns an easy walk into a rescue. This lesson is about preventing heat illness outdoors; for treatment in detail, see the First Aid module lesson on heat illness.

• Mountains in the UAE are only slightly cooler than the coast.
• Hike October to April, start early and avoid midday.
• Carry at least 3 litres each, more on warm days, and drink little and often.
• Heatstroke is an emergency: call 998 or 999.

3. Hajar mountains and wadis: floods, rockfall and marked trails

The Hajar mountains in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Hatta are beautiful and very different from the coast: steep, rocky and cut by dry valleys (wadis) that can fill with water in minutes. Respecting a few rules keeps them that way.

• Stay out of wadis whenever rain is forecast, even far away.
• You cannot outrun a flash flood: go up and stay up.
• Avoid cliff bases, especially during or after rain.
• Stay on marked trails and follow local rules.

4. Desert trips and camping: guides, sand and cold nights

A night in the desert under the stars is one of the best things about winter in the UAE. It is also a place where phones lose signal, cars get stuck and a hot afternoon turns into a cold night. Good trips are calm, slow and well prepared.

• Never go into the desert alone or with an inexperienced driver.
• Share a location pin, plan and check-in time with someone at home.
• Expect warm days and cold nights: pack layers and closed shoes.
• Never cut or suck a bite; keep still and call 998.

5. Navigation basics: map, compass, phone and what to do if lost

A phone map is brilliant until the battery dies or the signal goes. Knowing how to read a paper map, use a compass and stay calm if you are lost turns a scary situation into a manageable one. For city navigation, see the Travel and City Skills module.

• Your phone is a tool, not a safety net: carry a paper map and power bank.
• Close contour lines mean steep ground; a 'V' pointing uphill shows a valley.
• Keep the compass away from metal and your phone.
• If lost: stop, try to locate yourself, call for help, then stay put and be visible.

6. Leave No Trace: respecting UAE nature and wildlife

The UAE's deserts, mountains and mangroves are fragile: a tyre track across desert plants or a bag of rubbish can last for years. Leave No Trace is a simple set of habits that lets everyone keep enjoying wild places.

• Pack it in, pack it out: all of it.
• Stay on existing tracks and trails; never drive over desert plants.
• Watch wildlife from a distance and never feed it.
• Protected areas have their own rules: check before you go.

7. Camping skills: tents, staying warm and safe cooking

Good camping is mostly about small, careful habits: where you pitch, how you insulate yourself from the ground and how you handle flames and fuel. Get these right and you sleep well and wake up safe.

• Pitch in daylight on high, flat ground away from wadis and cliffs.
• Insulate from the ground: a good pad matters as much as a warm bag.
• Never cook, heat or burn anything inside a tent: carbon monoxide kills quickly.
• If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.

8. Outdoor gear on a budget: the essentials and how to borrow or rent

You do not need expensive kit to enjoy the outdoors safely. You need the right few items, in good working order, and the sense to borrow or rent before you buy.

• Ten simple essentials cover most outdoor problems.
• In the UAE, water, sun protection and visibility come first.
• Borrow or rent before you buy; buy safety items first.
• Test, charge and check everything before you go.

Talk about it, then try it

The real-life practice tasks from each lesson. Pick one or two a week and agree when you will check in.

1. Planning a safe trip: route, weather and telling someone
   • Pick a real local walk and calculate its time with the BMC rule (4 to 5 km per hour plus up to 1 minute per 10 metres of climb), then add time for heat and breaks.
   • Write a one-message trip plan template (start pin, route, people, car, return time, alarm time) and save it in your phone notes.
   • Look up where NCM weather alerts are published and follow the official channel.
2. Heat on the trail: water, timing and warning signs
   • Check the forecast high for your area this week and decide which days would be safe for a two-hour morning walk.
   • Weigh out 3 litres of water in bottles and carry it in a backpack for 20 minutes so you understand what it really feels like.
   • Learn the NHS signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke well enough to explain the difference to a friend.
3. Hajar mountains and wadis: floods, rockfall and marked trails
   • Open a map of a Hajar trail you would like to walk and trace where the wadi beds are and where you could climb out to higher ground.
   • Read the RAKTDA hiking rules on Visit Jebel Jais and list three you did not know.
   • Save 999, 998 and 995 in your phone under clear names.
4. Desert trips and camping: guides, sand and cold nights
   • Make a desert-trip checklist from this lesson (water, layers, shoes, torch, first aid, offline map, power bank) and check it against what your family already owns.
   • Download an offline map of an area such as Al Qudra on your phone and practise finding your location with mobile data switched off.
   • Read the NHS snake bite page and summarise the four main 'do not' points.
5. Navigation basics: map, compass, phone and what to do if lost
   • Find a printed or online topographic map of a local area and identify one steep slope, one valley and one flat area from the contour lines.
   • Practise orienting a map with a compass (or a phone compass app) in a park, then walk to a chosen point and back.
   • Download an offline map for your next outing and test it in flight mode.
6. Leave No Trace: respecting UAE nature and wildlife
   • On your next outing, bring a spare bag and collect any litter you see (with gloves), then note what was most common.
   • Look up one UAE protected area you have never visited and find its visitor rules.
   • Explain the seven principles to a younger sibling or friend in your own words.
7. Camping skills: tents, staying warm and safe cooking
   • Pitch a tent in your garden, a park or even a living room, then take it down and pack it, timing yourself.
   • Practise the drown, stir, drown, feel method with a small amount of ash or a barbecue at home with an adult.
   • Make a laminated 'camp fire rules' card with the five Ministry of Interior rules for your family's camping box.
8. Outdoor gear on a budget: the essentials and how to borrow or rent
   • Lay out the Ten Essentials from what your household already owns and list the gaps.
   • Price two missing items to buy versus borrow or rent, and decide which to get first.
   • Pack a day bag for a 2-hour winter hike and weigh it: aim to carry everything you need without it being too heavy to enjoy.

Quiz

Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Circle one answer for each question.

Answer key

1. C: Gulf News explains the NCM scale: yellow is 'be aware', orange is 'be prepared' and red is 'take action'.
2. D: US National Park Service: leave your trip plan with a trusted contact who is not joining you.
3. C: Visit Jebel Jais: carry at least 3 litres per person, plus rehydration drinks.
4. A: NHS: heatstroke signs include hot skin that is not sweating, fast breathing and confusion. Heavy sweating is typical of heat exhaustion.
5. C: Arizona Highways describes a flood triggered by a thunderstorm miles upstream that hit a spot where it was not raining.
6. A: Arizona Highways: you cannot outrun a flash flood, so get to higher ground and stay until it recedes. Abu Dhabi Civil Defence warns never to cross flooded valleys.
7. C: Dubai Police Search and Rescue (Gulf News): people should not go camping or deep into the desert alone.
8. C: Khaleej Times: temperatures can fall from about 35 degrees in the day to around 10 degrees at night.
9. D: Ordnance Survey: Explorer maps at 1:25,000 are '4 cm to 1 km'.
10. B: Ordnance Survey: the closer the contours, the steeper the slope.
11. A: Leave No Trace Center: the principles include respect wildlife, leave what you find and travel on durable surfaces.
12. B: EAD (Gulf News): drive on existing tracks only, do not drive over desert plants or through water pools.
13. C: Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue: carbon monoxide from a barbecue in a tent can reach fatal levels within minutes, and disposable barbecues give off CO for hours.
14. A: Ministry of Interior (Gulf News): storing firewood less than 15 feet from the tent is one of five common mistakes.
15. A: NPS Ten Essentials: headlamps are recommended because they are hands-free; carry spare batteries.
16. B: NPS: the Ten Essentials include emergency shelter, such as a space blanket, tarp or bivvy.

General information only, written from the sources listed in each online lesson. Laws, numbers and services change, so check official sources. Life-Ready Society, https://lifereadysociety.com/outdoors/